THE SEX FILES: The New Behind The Green Door

A new Vivid DVD prompts a bit of a history lesson this week, so bare with me kiddies. ‘Back in the day’ before this wacky Interweb thing we all know and love, people actually had to either go to an actual movie theater to see a pornographic film (and good old newly-Disneyfied 42nd in NYC had the best and brightest porno theaters of the era) or rent/buy a brittle 8 millimeter film to show on a sheet screen at home. On occasion, during what some would argue was the golden age of porn-the 70’s-a dirty movie would break-out, become a cause célèbre, feature an actual story interwoven through its sex scenes or be such a blatant hoot that it got lots of press. Though still X-rated to be sure, vilified by critics and clergy alike, movies like Deep Throat, Debbie Does Dallas, and the one that I’m concerned with this week (and a movie Vivid has seen fit to remake) Behind The Green Door, were films that everyone knew about and many more went to see.

Offering a double DVD set, Vivid’s The New Behind The Green Door is a remake of the classic Mitchell Brothers 1972 film starring the alluring red head Brooklyn Lee as “Hope” and directed by the ever inventive Paul Thomas. Living with “Mitch” (played by porn stalwart, the ever hard and handsome James Deen) Hope is on the fast track to losing her money left to her by her mom (who she is ever searching for here even though her adopted parents have told Hope her mom is dead) as well as her hope and desire for the ever drinking and womanizing Mitch. Early on we are treated to snippets from the original movie during Hope and Mitch’s first and very realistic sex scene (almost squirm-producing at times it is so true) where he prompts her to relate a fantasy he just knows she’s imagining while he literally plows her. This won’t be the first time we see scenes from the original film cut into this new one.

The couple is soon off to a party (though they have to walk after Mitch’s car is repossessed) and we have a pretty long intense sex scene (starting in the shower and including lots of anal play) between Dana DeArmond and Steven St Croix cut with Hope making her way through the party, meeting an old friend “Keyes,” played by Richie Calhoun and Mitch realizing his own fantasy with two blonde party girls (this includes what I have come to regard as the modern day obligatory gagging scene I am just not a fan of, sorry to say).

We get out and about with Lee’s Hope, see some iconic spots of San Francisco-Golden Gate Bridge and Ghirardelli Square-and once again meet Keyes. After a close all too brief encounter between Hope and Keyes, the lady ‘finds’ the address and password (ala Eyes Wide Shut) of the “Caligula Club,” where the crafty Keyes actually wants Hope to go (he is the agent of Steven St. Croix’s “Harvey” who spotted Hope at his party and has specific plans for her).

Of course Hope/Lee visits the club and becomes entangled in pretty much the same sex scenes as Marilyn Chambers did in the original movie (though in the original she is blindfolded and all but kidnapped to find her fate behind the green door). In fact the original movie plays in the background as Brooklyn, Nat Turner, Jon Jon and Prince Yahshua “swing” (and if you have seen the original movie and/or this one you will know what I mean) in a long orgy scene with other masked members of the club enjoying what’s presented in front of them.

I saw the big reveal coming (if you will pardon the pun) but still enjoyed the denoumount, especially a nasty back-of-the-pawn-shop foot fetish scene between Herschel Savage and Brooklyn Lee.

Filmed as it is in San Francisco, scene of the original film (the house from the first film is used here…and even a hotel I stayed at!) featuringoriginal Green Door cast member Johnnie Keyes and bonus footage with Marilyn Chambers’ daughter McKenna Taylor, Vivid presents a damn solid 2-DVD package remake of a rather hot film.